Sunday, December 13, 2015

US Air Force to add 75 MORE Reaper Drones

The U.S. Air Force’s plan to pare down its drone fleet was fantastically unrealistic—and the branch’s leadership seems to be finally realizing this. Now, as Foxtrot Alpha predicted, the Air Force is asking to expand its drone capacity dramatically due to the the threat from international terrorism, the realities regarding the state of conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as the dismal cultural and personnel situation within the drone force’s ranks.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, on Thursday, the Air Force has a $3 billion dollar proposal that aims to add 75 MQ-9 Reaper drones to the current fleet of 175 Reapers and 150 Predators. This will increase the number of drone squadrons from eight to 17.